a snort of derision out across the airwaves

I love how my friends are out there on the streets of downtown houston helping people directly -- while the FEMA "Disaster Recovery Center" - on 610 and South Wayside - will not open until Wednesday. That's fuckin' pathetic!

The parking lot at the Astrodome/Reliant Center is chock full of mysterious 18-wheelers. No one goes in, no one comes out. 18-wheelers full of stuff, presumably. Too bad the stuff isn't getting to anyone!

What happened to the mobile pharmacy trucks? Those were great. Imagine, for a minute, the thousands of people right now who need their prescriptions refilled and have no idea how or where to get to the nearest Walgreens (and they're lucky if that's where they HAD their prescrips in the first place instead of at some chain without a Houston presence.)

***
Here's one of my byzantine paths of "helping" from today:

question: is the continental free ticket program still going? and if so, is there a phone number?

- googling unfruitful.
- continental web site has nothing. they will reschedule you free if your flight got messed up by rita.
- emailed the really nice guy that I met at the dome who works for continental to ask him.
- on hold for half an hour with continental main 800 number. phone bank person says, "That's over. Katrina is over. it's all about Rita." Oooookay. She could not give me any other number nor would she let me talk to any kind of supervisor.

meanwhile:

- called RC hotline for houston: 713-313-5480 on hold a while, not too bad; helpful, nice person answered

- the Red Cross service center at St. Agnes church is closed. They will re-open Wednesday at 8am at the Disaster Relief Center in the old Auchan's building at 6059 south loop east, Hwy 610 and South Wayside.

- rita evacuees must call directly or must say where they are from specifically. galveston people must call their local chapter 1866 438-4636. depending on where you are from, the RC hotline will allocate you to a shelter that has space.

- if you are from louisiana then you are supposed to go to the George R. Brown convention center in downtown houston. from there in theory you will be "sent" to some other shelter. (???) (Mark is investigating this by going there himself.)

- for food: call the Houston Food Bank 713-223-3700

- for clothing: call the salvation army 713-752-0686

Welp, that's what the helpful, nice person at the RC hotline Houston phone bank said as of today, Monday, 3pm Houston time. I wonder how much of it is true? and of those phone numbers, if I call them, will anyone answer? Let's find out!

I'm passing this info by phone to Mark and Eugenia... Eugenia already knew some of it, but not all.

***
Further! How can one get food? Trying to spare Mark and them, who are driving around, not much gas, still most gas stations in Houston at least downtown there's no gas....

So: I call the food bank number that I got from the Red Cross Hotline.
it's a recording... at the end of the "push 1 for x, 2 for y" menu I get, "If you need food, call this other number: 713-957-4357.

The food bank itself is at 3811 eastex freeway, corner of 59 north and calvacade., 77026.
But they are not a place you go to pick up free food.

"Katrina or rita?" they ask me... "Both..."
"We're supposed to tell people they can get food stamps expedited if they are Katrina. For Rita, maybe, but we don't know yet. And to give them the number to call and where to go to get food stamps."

"What about if i have people hungry right now who need food. Where can I send them? "
"what's the zip code?"
"So you have a list of food pantries by zip code? Can you email me that list? Is there a url for it, is it a web site?"
"No... it's our database... i have to give it a zip code or I don't see a list... I can read you the addresses."

I give her the zip codes for the astrodome and george r. brown, since i know there's people who ended up at motels/hotels near there.

nearest convention ctr: 77010 pantries:within 1 mile

salv army, 1500 austin st. 713-752-0686
catholic charities, guadalupe area 326 south jensen, 713-227-9981

emergency aid oalition 5401 fannin, 713-528-3663 only 18-25 ages
magnolia health ctr 7037 capitol ave, 713-928-9515
westlake comm center: 1235 lorraine entrance on gano st. 713-222-8725
1410 lee st. 713-223-8131
mothers outreach: 1811 stevens st. 281-627-0269
target hunger: 2814 quitman, 713-226-4953

near astrodome 77054

south union church of christ, 7427 ardmore, 713-747-7002
society st vincent 2403 holcombe blvd 713-667-0497
unity in god baptist 7141 tierwester 713-748-2869
windsor villiage methodist: 12401 1/2 south post oak road 713-551-8792

I now call Mark back and can read him these addresses and phone numbers. No guarantee the places are open! We must call them. He happens to have a client who is really near the Tierwester road address at the Unity Baptist. So I hope they are open!

Here is a perfect example that shows how we need SMART "computer people" on the job. Yes, it is excellent to fill up your truck full of food and drive it down there and find someone who needs it, and you'll have NO problem finding someone who needs it. But -- here is a case where we have a hungry person, in fact whole families. At some motel on Tierwester road. and we have a person helping many many people, and he could really use an email with the list of all the OPEN food pantries in town witih addresses and ... links to maps even. We need the computers to get the information! Hackers, the Houston Food Bank needs you, obviously!